About Dave

I grew up a half-hour south of Cheyenne, my grandad was in the coal business, and Dad was in the sugar beet business. Mom was a school teacher who felt the best babysitter was a horse. Dad taught me to shoot straight, load my own shells, chew tobacco, and close the fence behind me. As a kid, I walked most of the sugar beet fields of Colorado and Wyoming, camped in the Snowies, and fished the Green, and never missed Frontier Days.

I became a Republican around age 12 when I started writing fan mail to Richard Nixon. My first vote was for Ronald Reagan. Later, to thank me for helping him, George H.W. Bush gave me an autographed picture wearing his college baseball uniform. I have a picture of myself with Bob Dole when he ran for President and we attended a NASCAR event together. I supported my friend Mitt Romney, who was on the board of directors of one of my companies, the year he ran against Barack Obama. I’m also the candidate that gave money to John McCain when he ran for president.

Like most Republicans, I prefer business people over politicians. I worked in the oil and gas business, and then later helped create 20,000 private sector jobs in industries like trucking and auto parts. I hold degrees in business and economics.

To me, being Republican is not about what you say, but what you do. My Republican party would never run up a $22 trillion debt and pass record-setting spending bills while borrowing from the Social Security Trust Fund. My Republican party loves free-markets and wouldn’t consider legislation that allowed pharmaceutical companies to enjoy anti-competitive practices at the expense of the customer, and believe taxes should be low, fair, and transparent for everyone—not just for their donors.

Now, my wife Wendy and I have started The Dave & Wendy Dodson Charitable Fund. We are fortunate to have done well in the private sector, but also to have had parents who instilled in us a sense of duty to our community. Working side-by-side, we are committed to supporting the exceptional Wyoming organizations that are Putting Wyoming Communities First. This Fund is our way to give back to a state and community we love.